Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

Rock Botton — the sequel

After headlining last night’s blog Rock Bottom, how am I supposed to characterize tonight?

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Red Sox, they did — a lot worse. Another winnable game down the drain. This is the most exasperating road trip the Red Sox have had in my five years on the beat. They are not only losing to bad teams, but doing it in the late innings.

One night after their most reliable relief pitcher (Papelbon) coughed up a game, their most reliable starting pitcher (Schilling) did so tonight. To see Schilling give up nine doubles to that team is almost incomprehensible. I’m quite sure nobody is more disgusted with it than he is.

Seriously, how did they lose this game. And how did their bats not once jump on the Royals pitching staff over these three games? Is it me, or does the entire offense now depend on home runs? What happened to an old-fashioned rally?

Perhaps Fenway will make a difference this weekend. Something needs to. It’s a good time to start a lengthy homestand. I’m sure the crowd is going to be on the edgy side on Friday until the Red Sox start doing some positive things.

408 Comments

We seriously need to beat up on the Orioles. If we don’t, we’ll be going into a really, really hard stretch against very good teams without a shread of confidence. That could mean a disasterous ending to what started out as a very exciting and promising season.

Boomer is on the mound tomorrow night, so I’m starting to really worry.

I just wanted to make a note of something. The Yankees had no CF last year. Seriously, they really had no production from CF. Meanwhile, we had Damon. With Damon on their team, the Yankees added maybe 5 wins. With Coco replacing Damon (and not doing a great job), the Sox LOST maybe 5 games. Add it all together, and Damon represents a 10-game swing alone.

While that’s not worth 52 million dollars, it does mean trouble for the Sox. I don’t see how Coco can start up a rally, or how guys behind him can count on a spark which ignites a big inning.

I really want to see Youk lead off again. Maybe one of the reasons why the Sox are losing IS because Coco has replaced Youk. Put Pena behind Manny, and let Coco hit 9th, behind Gonzalez. Gonzo has better stats than Coco, and our CF’s speed means that he can be what managers call a “second lead-off guy”.

Ian, what do you think about putting Youk back in the leadoff spot? His OBP is extremely valuable, and Coco just ain’t cuttin’ it. I’ve seen him for some time now, and maybe it’s the injury he suffered, or maybe he’s just not that good. Whatever it is, I think the time has come to replace him with Youk. I’m not sayin’ this has to be permanent. Coco can EARN back his spot next spring or next season. But for now, he’s a 9th hitter, not a leadoff man. I’d rather see Gonzalez bat… actually, our SS isn’t doing so badly right now.

I mean, heck, even if the team was playing well, you actually think you’re going to sweep a 5 game series with a doubleheader? Of a team that’s playing very well while Boston is not? Kind of wishful thinking, no?

You know, I’m starting to get a bit worked up by some of Francona’s decisions…

1) Why the **** would he remove Youk from the leadoff spot?

2) Why replace Pena with Kapler halfway through the game?? Pena is INFINITELY times more valuable than Kapler in terms of offense, and the defense isn’t THAT much worse… without Pena, we’d have lost 5-1. Think about it…

Well, I admire everyone’s optimism, but let’s avoid pipe dreams of a five-game sweep against the Yankees. That won’t happen. Five game sweeps are nearly impossible. As for the Youk dilemma, the middle portion of the order is weaker without ‘Tek and Trot, so i actually agree with Tito on this one. Once Trot returns, Youk should definitely hit first again.

lol sweep the yankees….if u swept the 5 game series from the yankees it would be a bigger comeback than the 04 fluke…plain and simple. and since this is a sox blog u can spin it and say “it would be a bigger collapse by the yankees”

Why did our stupid manager just sit there and let Kurt take a beating? I say get rid of Terry or the Redsox will never make it this year. He is the reason the Redsox are losing. I can’t stand to see him just sitting there chewing his cud.

Nobody is saying anything about Coco getting caught stealing in the first. He would have scored if he kept himself in the game (by NOT stealing) Why even try it when you have Ortiz and Manny behind you? He seems to be pressing…

Morning nationers, and vic and vince. Just popping in to say, What the Hel is going on, I’ve been back in Southern New England for 5 days (much nicer than Korea by the way) and have watched the 5 worst ball games ever. If they don’t turn this around by mon you will all get to se what i look like, i’ll be the guy getting dragged out of fenway by 6 cops after i charge the field and beat on Tavarez, Saenez or Lopez (granted many others have contributed to this ugly run but the ez’s our consistantly bad and lopez is to lazy to move over three inches to block a ball, i mean seriously don’t they teach you in little league to get in front o the ball and turn you glove).Well I am going to spend another wonderful day in Southern mass and mentally prepare for tonights ugliness. Later all

I’ll agree Coco shouldn’t be leading off with youk’s, OBP (but if the slide continues much longer might as well put coco leading off jsut to build his confidence for 07) But on the steal, he got a great jump the catcher made an amazing throw,and still was a judgement call, the steal wasn’t really a bad play, just a bad result.

OK, I think this losing streak is getting some people really addle-pated. Let’s get one thing straight: The Sox can’t sweep the Yankees this weekend because they don’t PLAY the Yankees this weekend. They play Baltimore this weekend, then the Tigers, then the Yanks NEXT weekend. I know the Yankees weigh heavily on everyone’s mind, but let’s get through Baltimore and Detroit first.

I can’t argue too much with the thought that Schilling should have been pulled. Bringing in Timlin the eighth or even Papelbon for two innings might have saved the game. But there are a couple of things to remember, which to me are reasons why you can’t hang this loss entirely on Francona’s decision to leave Schilling in:

1) Schilling was facing the bottom third of the order, none of whom are hitting over .250. A guy like Schill SHOULD be able to dig down and get those guys.

2) The single that Shealy hit was a WEAK hit, that probably results in an out if Schilling doesn’t re-direct it away in the opposite direction from where Gonzalez is going. After that, Schilling has a good chance to get John Buck out, leaving the score at least tied. It’s not like Schilling hung a pitch and Shealy knocked it over the wall.

3) Over their last 10 appearances, Papelbon and Timilin have looked a LOT more hittable. It just doesn’t seem like ANY Boston pitcher is reliable right now.

Anyway, at least the Yankees lost and the Sox are still only 3 back. I’m not suggesting they can count on New York to save their bacon by losing a bunch; Boston’s GOT to shake this losing streak off and start playing like they’re capable of doing. Wells, Johnson and Lester against the O’s, which means Beckett and Schilling against Detroit. THEORETICALLY, it’s good that Boston’s top starters are going against the Tigers.

And Jamie, I don’t know what facts or stats you’re basing your analysis on, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to say that Damon and Crisp have combined to cause a 10-came difference in the Yankees’ and Red Sox’ positions relative to each other. Too many other factors involved.

Hang tough, folks. I don’t want to get Kevin worked up by saying this is just a little….well, I won’t say it. But the Sox can still pull this off if they get things going.

Rob, I based my 10-game comment on baseball logic. Last year, the Yankees had Bernie Williams and other subpar players for CF. Meanwhile, we had one of the best CF in the league. Now that we’ve switched (Coco isn’t even as good as Williams was last year), we’ve lost several games to the Evil Empire. Damon contributes about 4-5 wins more than Williams, and Crisp costs us about 4-5 losses more than Damon. Therefore, we’ve lost 8-10 games on losing Damon alone.

coco crisp- you were hoping for the sweetdecoder ring and only got the invisible ink pen out of that box. Youk back to tom willy Mo fifth I mean cmon and Shilling should have gotten pulled just a tad earlier. I know bullpen is weak right now but they need to bounce back sometime and I mean against the Royals. Oh well Sox have bad record in KC anyway maybe it will be a little cooler against dirty birds and FRancona will get over his delerium

jeramie, the reason why the Sox have a bad record against the Royals is because they’re both old teams, and the Royals were once a top-tier team. That, however, has CHANGED. They’re the worst team in baseball and getting swept by them is utter humiliation – no excuses for the Sox this time.

First, the Red Sox are old? Not as far a position players go, they’re not:

Crisp – 26

Pena – 26

Youkilis – 27

Gonzalez – 29

Ortiz – 30

Kapler – 31

Cora – 31

Lowell – 32

Ramirez – 34

Loretta – 35

Manny and Loretta, the two oldest on the list, have the first and third best batting average, respectively. You’re right, there’s no excuse for getting swept by the Royals; so don’t make up an excuse for them by saying they’re “old.”

And to continue about the Damon/Crisp situation, can you tell me how you’ve determined that Damon “contributes” those wins? How many game-winning hits has he had this season? Show me the games that you can say with certainty that the Yankees would have lost if Damon had not been in the lineup. Baseball is a team sport, and very rarely can you attribute that many games to the presence of one single player. To say that the Red Sox would be seven games ahead of the Yankees right now (the difference a 10-game swing would make) if they had kept Damon is just plain unsupportable if you ask me, and if you’ll pardon my saying so, sounds a lot like sour grapes.

Glad to see that we’re all keeping our heads out of gas ovens (so far) and staying away from sharp objects. Cyn: you’re right, especially about the bandwagon jumpers, good riddance to them.
Squid, I just asked about you yesterday on the previous blog. How’s your time stateside been?? Hope you’re having a blast. You’ll have to tell me what Fenways like. I envy everyone of you who have been there. Especially those of you who live near and are able to get there whenever a chance presents itself.

And re that guy who used to play cf for us, who is to say that if he were still here that he wouldn’t have run into that same fence and knocked himself out for the year. We can sit and speculate till the mountains crumble, and that won’t change a thing. We have to work with what we have. I said the other day they need some kind of spark that’s going kick this team into high gear. Some momentum swing. A good weekend against the O’s, could be just what the doctor ordered. Another thing we could use would be for the Angels to have a great weekend aginst the empire.

On a lighter note: What so you think the chances are that we could borrow Millar to go into the locker room and Cowboy Up the team??

Forget abt what happened in the past week and let’s look forward to the series ahead. Adam Loewen Vs David Wells today. Loewen shutdown the Yanks in the last game. He is a highly rated prospect/rookie for the orioles. We owned the orioles all year and hopefully we continue own them the rest of the year.

ellen you might as well stop saying it could be what the doctor ordered cause u said it vs tampa and kansas and iu went 1-5.
Damon is better than crisp this year, deal with it, i am not sure the difference is 8-10 games, i mean i can think off the top of my head of 2-3 that damon is the main reason we one, certainly not 4-5.

The main difference is the yankees gave themselves a chance to win this year and years to come, the sox are relying heavily on years to come. Crisp, beckett, delcarmen, lester, hansen, pena, that 2nd baseman/ss kid, papelbon, and to a lesser extent snyder. All of these guys you are hoping solid careers out of and if you don’t get them, you will be ****** again or have to make trades thus defeating your mindset in the 1st place.

Papelbon could not pitch two innings because papelbon’s arm is going to fall off any day now. How did none of you see this coming? I was a guest host on a radio show in early may and a redsox fan was talking to me and said papelbon is the truth, he is the future, he is the next mo, he is 20/20 he is great and so intimidating. I said, yeah he is showing a lot of promise right now but this kid is just a kid, he is not going to keep this up all year he has never PLAYED A MAJOR LEAGUE SEASON, it is a lot different than the minors and down the stretch you will see what he is made of both mentally and more importantly physically. His arm is tired, it is as simple as that, hence why francona has not been going to him 2 innings when you all want him to and hence why his numbers are starting to fall off, do you forget how often you used him in the beginning of the year? He is tired, plain and simple.

kumar i agree this is a huge homestand for you, but even if you did take over 1st place by some miracle at the end of it….you have a 9 game west road trip to follow and that also makes or breaks your season

I think it’s not just the Fans that were affected by the trades or no-trades at the deadline. Since, the deadline we didn’t win even a single series at home or away. There were some comments from the players on July 31st after the Yanks got Abreau and before the Angels game that night suggesting some disappointment. I still searching to find that news item. I think the trades or non-trades at the deadline have affected the team and they have to forget what happened at the deadline and start concentrating on baseball.

I was not refering to the ESPN report but I was refering to some news item from Globe before the Angels game on July 31st. It had some comments from Papi that suggests the mood inside the ball club. I still think the deals at the dealine have affected the team. But, the Sox need to put what happened at the deadline behind them and focus on baseball.

haha ellen, i woke up about an hour ago, which is about a half hour earlier than usual…though i did get up in the am (11:45) yesterday, it was wild…I’m doing fine, i’m a little nervous for this angels club, i think of any team in mlb they are the worst matchup to us, but we shall see, everytime i doubt this team’s heart or ability they shut me up…how are you today?

Vince, you have every reason to be worried abt the Angels. They always play well against the Yanks. Perhaps, they are the only team with a winning record against the yanks in the Torre era, I am not so sure abt the exact record during that period.

And Angels don’t have Bartolo Colon. That’s bad news for the Yanks. Somehow I got the feeling that he is the only pitcher they are comfortable on the Angels staff. Arod had a 3-HR game vs Colon and also in the play-offs he got injured after pitching less than an inning…

yes obviously that is why i am worried….a rod has owned colon his entire career and we like feasting on his body parts when he pitches in the form of many many hard hit balls. Yes you are correct, 28 major league teams are inferior to the yankees in the torre era, 29 if you consider the angels have only won it all once thus all their other victories were useless. I am more worried cause they have a plethera of young studly rookies who are just waiting to get lucky. No, i don’t mean a prostitute, i mean pitchers. It would be pretty sweet to break that trend against them though and confuse everybody by taking the season series instead of always letting garrett anderson get his only hits of the year against us.

Another busy day today, and another weekend of writing deadlines, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be on here. I think I’m taking on more magazine feature work and PR work than I can handle. Anyway, a few comments:

– I think the Sox are built to win this year, and for the future. I like the mix of veterans and rookies. Agreed, if they continue to play like they have since the All-Star break, they will not reach the post-season. I am confident that they will break out of this slide. They have “professional” players on this team, and they will make a run at the AL East title. The Yankees are playing well, and the Sox are not, but that can reverse in a matter of a few games.

– Second, I’m glad the Sox did not retain Damon. He only has a couple productive years left, and Crisp is just 25 or 26. He has shown that he can hit for average and power when he is healthy. He will likely not do either this season because of his thumb injury.

– Third, it is frustrating and aggravating that the Sox are struggling, especially against the D-Rays and Royals. But when you’re in a slump, you’re in a slump. The D-Rays and Royals are subpar teams, but they are Major League teams, and on any given night, a team like the Royals can beat a team like the Red Sox, if the latter does not execute. However, numbers don’t matter. If the Sox can break out of their funk, they can win upcoming series against the Orioles, Tigers, Yankees, Angels, etc. They don’t need to sweep, they just need to win each series. That is how you build momentum and gain ground.

– Fourth, baseball – or any sports for that matter – is a game of ifs. You never plan to go into a slump as a player, and you never plan to go through a losing streak as a team. It just happens, and it’s part of the game. Everyone in the Sox clubhouse knows what he needs to do to help the team pull out of this slump. “If” each player does his part, the Sox will be fine. “If” each player doesn’t, likely the Sox will continue to struggle.

– Lastly, I don’t really care about opinions from Yankees fans. They are entitled to tehir opinions, and they tend to blast the Sox when they are down, and remain silent when the Sox are hot. There are 49 games left in the season, and the Sox are 3 behind the Yankees for the AL East, and 1 1/2 games behind the wild card leader. Right now, it is discouraging the way the Sox are playing, but there is time to turn it around. There is not much else to say. The Sox are stinking right now. The Yankees, White Sox and Twins are not. I agree, the Sox don’t need to worry about what other teams are doing. They need to focus on ending this losing streak, then winning a series, and then keep winning each series they play. Time will tell if they do.

okay, I’ve been mowing my lawn today, and it’s so hot and humid, that I’m taking another break (2nd). Though i hate our off season, the weather is better.
kumar mentioned the Trot Chat ofrom Wednesday. I can’t believe that I had computer trouble that morning, my isp was having trouble. I think it was meant to be that way, because right after it was over, I got back on. Me, the biggest Trot fan and not able to chat. I was peeezed.

At this point, I can’t even worry about what the Yankees do. We need to be just as concerned about Chicago and the Twins. Detroit is in Chicago this weekend and I hope they take care of business there.
Realistically though, if we are depending on other teams to lose for us to make it, it just won’t happen.

The Sox need to find a heart and some attitude and start taking care of business. After the Orioles, they head to LA,(who took 2 of 3 from us at home), Seattle (who took 2 of 3 in Seattle) and Oakland (who we took 2 of 3 from there, but they beat us 3 of 4 right after the break).

This isn’t going out on a limb, but the next 2 weeks will more than likely decide the season.

By the way, Vince, ’04 a fluke? I don’t think so. That’s how baseball is. You never know what will happen. Sox fans know this better than anyone. I see on the Yankees blog where you consistently refer to the Sox as having years of failure, and then you tone down your comments on this blog. First, the Sox have not had years of failure. We’ve had our share of disappointment, true, but not failure. The Red Sox have won plenty, they just haven’t won the whole thing, until ’04, of course. The Cubs, now their fans have dealt with years of failure. Rarely do the Sox have a losing record, and rarely are they not in contention for not only a playoff spot, but a World Series title.

As for ’04 being a fluke, that’s not the case. The Sox gained momentum with the Roberts steal, Mueller’s game-tying single and then winning the game in extra innings. That momentum carried them, just as the Mets momentum carried them after winning Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, which I would not call a fluke. So throw the sour grapes away. It’s not fun to lose in that style, but the Yankees did, just as the Sox did in 1986, and in 1975.

Who knows what will happen this season, which is what I care about since the past is the past.

I agree, Kevin. The Sox need to start winning series instead of losing them. They need to regain their momeuntum at home, and continue it on the west coast road swing. If they don’t, likely they will be facing a hole they can’t climb out of.

Vince, do you really think fatigue is a significant factor for Papelbon? (Here I go with the stats.) Yes, he pitched a lot at the beginning of the season, but he only had ten appearances in June and July, and since July one has had 3 or more days of rest between appearances 8 times. He also hasn’t pitched on consecutive days very often. I’m no pitching expert, but it seems like he shouldn’t be that tired.

I don’t thnk fatigue has anything to do with Papelbon’s last two games. He’s a rookie, and he’s human. He’s going to occasionally serve up a home run and blow a save. I’m not concerned about Papelbon, just as I’m not concerned about Timlin or Delcarmen. Now Seanez, Tavarez and Hansen are another story.

3 games behind with more than 40 to go is much better than 3 behind in a 7 game series. How soon we forget. Baseball always seems to even itself out. The Yankees have been playing better than expected, and us the opposite. We are home against them, and once again, they are the ones with everything to lose. Wake will come back, Boomer will settle down, and this team will find a way to win. I am not happy losing 5 in a row, but to be honest, I am much more concerned about the Patriots right now than I am with the rest of this baseball season for the Sox.This team will contend, they are not our Fathers’ Red Sox!

I agree, Jason. As for me, I’m a lifelong Steelers fan, so the Patriots woes don’t concern me :). I am confident the Sox will rebound. I am more concerned about the Celtics (I’m a lifelong fan as well).

jeff if you read correctly you would see I put 04 in two different terms, the redsox view and the yankee view. Your definition of failure is different than mine, plain and simple. I view success as winning (call it a yankee mentality i don’t view that as a bad thing) you view success as having a winning record, that is up to you, but the sox to me, failed A LOT to not win in 86 years, if they weren’t failures from 1998-2003 then nobody can be considered failures and now you’re just getting politically correct. If you truly cared about only the future and not the past then you wouldn’t have taken the time to breakdown the fine details of how the sox won that series now would you? Don’t pretend like you are this guy who wants to ignore the past because it doesn’t matter but take offense if i call 04 a fluke. Once again, depends on your definition of fluke. I realize how you came back and it is very admirable but the fact of the matter is a closer with two blown saves in his post season career (of which there have been many many opportunities) blew one on back to back nights, that to me, is a fluke, like i said, redsox fans can think of it however i phrases it above, but i view it a different way and i’m sure many many yankee fans agree.

robyn, yes, i think it is fatigue, the minor league season is half the major league one, he was starting pitcher that pitched once a week in half a season now he has double the season and pitches double the amount of times at full octane. You can’t tell me that may not effect his arm the least bit. Yes he is a rookie, rookies struggle because they are not used to the major leagues or they cannot handle the pressure, so it is either A: he does have the mental makeup to keep it going all year or B: his arm is suffering because he is a rookie. You cannot use rookie as an excuse and then not conclude it with a reason.

I think Wells will contribute, too. Though it was a little disturbing that he did not throw many fastballs against the D-Rays. All he threw were benders. He didn’t have a rehab start in the minors, so I imagine it might take him another start or two before he puts it together.

I never said success was defined by having a winning record. Success to me is reaching the post-season. It’s nice to win it all, but that does not happen on a regular basis to many teams. The Yankees had their run in the 90s, but now they are just another team trying to make the post-season each year, just like the Sox. I consider the Sox as a successful franchise, just as I consider the Bills, Braves, Steelers, etc. successful because they put themselves in a position to win each year. A winning record is one thing, contending is another. The Sox are in the latter category. Success for a team like the Cubs, Royals, D-Rays, Brewers, Nationals, Pirates, etc. would be having a winning record. Success for a team like the Sox, Yankees, etc. is reaching the post-season, or at least playing well enough to. Especially in this age of baseball, you’re not going to win the whole thing for several years. It’s hard enough to win one, much less repeat.

Of course Yankees fans will agree with your opinion that 2004 is a fluke. That’s why they are Yankees fans. As for Papelbon, I don’t think that his arm is hurting. He has blown back-to-back saves, plain and simple. People always tend to overanalyze when a player does not come through, or is in a slump. Sometimes, as the saying goes, sh*t happens. That’s how baseball is. Francona just needs to put him in and let him regain his edge.

2004 wasn’t a fluke, just every little detail of every game went the Red Sox way in games 4-7, (Trot Nixon’s catch to save 2, maybe 3 runs. Tony Clark’s ground rule double which would have scored Ruben Sierra if it didn’t bounce over the wall). That’s the way I see it.

A marketing question for you true baseball fans. I am in the early stages of writing a baseball travel guidebook that will feature every Major League team, and their minor league affiliates. Essentially, the book will detail the history and stories about each stadium and what to eat and do there. Byeond that, the book will include interesting hotels, attractions, restaurants, etc. in each Major League town. For each Major League town, I’m interviewing a player from that team who has strong ties to the city. For example, with the Sox, I am working on including Manny Delcarmen, since he was born and raised in Boston. Each team will compose a chapter, and at the end of each chapter I will also include stories and details about the minor league affiliates, so people will know where to stay and what to do if they want to make a road trip. There are a few baseball travel guides that have been written, but none so far with these angles. I already have a publisher; I just wanted to see what you as baseball fans think should be included. I’ve written a couple travel guidebooks, but I am especially excited about this one.

True, btide. Exactly my point. That is how baseball goes sometimes. That is how you have losing streaks and winning streaks, and how it can turn around quickly. When it’s bad, it’s bad – like it is for the Sox right now. When it’s good, it’s good and you seem to get all the breaks.

lol see what alex just described to me=fluke. I am by no means saying the sox did not deserve to win, it just took a fluke to do it.

I also don’t think the redsox are failures as a franchise, i think in terms of success they failed. They sell out their stadium they have a great fan base and good hotdogs, the franchise is not the problem.

jeff, I think you pretty much covered it. Hotels to stay at, restaurants to eat at, and alternate attractions….i don’t know maybe a fun fact about the area too? lol

Vince..I don’t think papelbon’s blown saves are on the account of fatigue of the arm. I agree with Jeff Brantley..He said that the young kids, espcially papelbon relied on Varitek’s adeptness in calling pitches. He doesn’t have that anymore. Javy Lopez doesnt know Papelbon so he doesn’t know what he’s comfortable with or what his usuall situations are when throwing pitches. I think Varitek’s absence is a lot bigger than most people are believing

destiny/fluke, whatever. Everyone who keeps asking how to explain certain things just further enriches the argument of fluke, like i said, they deserved the win, they won, not us, but it was a fluke, winning the ws however, was not.

That’s true, Yankee Indian. Destiny has a lot to do with teams winning. The Steelers are a prime example in football. The Tigers in 84 are another. Just hope the Tigers of 2006 aren’t a team of destiny, just like the White Sox were last year.

Not necessarily, He might know what pitch to throw, but may not be as keen on the correct location. Thats why the sox have Varitek calling games for pitchers. Sometimes pitchers call their own games, but ever Schilling allows Varitek to call his games. Catchers know that kind of stuff. They see it on a daily basis, where pitchers don’t. Papelbon might know a good location, but Varitek may know a better location or a better pitch to throw in that situation. He has a lot more experience than Papelbon

I also think that Varitek’s loss is more damaging than people – myself included – originally thought. Familiarity with a catcher is important, for veterans and for young players. Perhaps Mirabelli should get most of the starts until Varitek returns since he is solid defensively, and he knows the Sox pitchers well.

They were good, but they seemed to win with smoke and mirrors. Few people – myself included – though they would be able to beat the Sox, and then fewer people expected them to reach the Series. They didn’t have much of an offense, but they had strong pitching. Now, they have a solid offense and questionable pitching, even though they have the same rotation. Interesting what a year brings.

lol you all just lectured me on overanalysing problems and yet you are coming up with every excuse in the book when it could be something as simple as he is young in his first full season is pitching more frequently then ever before and is now tired. Proctor was a starter in the minors too, he got tired from pitching frequently for a full season, this is not a hard concept.

for ur sakes u should hope he is tired and it is not scouting reports or else you could be in for even bigger trouble

I think we’re overanalyzing Papelbon. He has blown back-to-back saves. So what. I don’t think his arm is tired. If he saves a couple over the weekend, there will be no more talk about Papelbon. He’s a rookie. He’s entitled to have a rough stretch.

The loss of Tek is big for the pitchers in general, not just the releivers.
Games that Javy Lopez plays last at least 45 minutes longer because he isn’t in synch with the pitchers.

Each pitcher steps off at least 10 times an inning with Lopez back there. That gets the fielders antsy and slows the day down completely. Now, that is no excuse for some of the failures, but in the long run it will affect a pitcher’s mentality towards trusting Lopez which could cause to more and more mistakes.

I can’t see how frustrated donut boy gets tonight trying to deal with Lopez.

I’m not coming up with any excuses. I made my point that Papelbon just blew a couple saves and is going through a rough stretch, which is part of the game, and more likely to happen to a rookie than a veteran. But even Rivera struggles on occasion, and he is arguably the best closer in the history of the game. Papelbon will be fine.

And I do think that the loss of Varitek has hurt the Sox pitching. That’s not an excuse, just a fact. Pitchers are confident in trusting Varitek. I think it should impact guys like Schilling, Wells and Timlin much less than it would Papelbon, Lester, Hansen and Delcarmen because they are veterans and they rely more on themselves than the catcher. I don’t think it matters for Seanez or Tavarez, they just plain stink.

he has 5 blown saves in 15 appearances, this is not back to back bs’s. and he has not proven a thing vs the competitors he will face in games that matter the most, he barely comes in in 1 run games against playoff teams, this is not just some back to back save fluke, he is legitimately struggling right now.

I hope Wakefield is back by early September. I’m not sure about a rib injury, but I would think it would heal quicker than an arm, shoulder or elbow injury. At least his arm is getting a rest. Of course, he’s the type of guy who can throw 120 pitches if needed and not be bothered when he makes his next start.

hahah pavano OUR SAVIOR! hahahah, that’s awesome. In all truthfullness i would like dotel to come back right after the sox series not before it, i don’t want him getting ****** up in his first appearances back and the sox own him

Vince, I think you’re stretching your hopes on Papelbon struggling.
His 1st blown save was with a guy on 3rd in the 8th inning vs. Texas. Sox came back to win.

2nd-Chase Utley hit a homrun just around pesky’s pole.

3rd-Jermain Dye hit a homerun.

So out of his 1st 3, 2 were clutch hits by All-Stars. Simple mistakes.

Tampa and KC were bad outings.

I can be as negative as they come when the going gets rough, but it’s going to take a lot more than that for me to think that Papelbon is struggling.

Who would you consider good compitition then? I know the Yankees haven’t touched him. The Blue Jays are the only other team in the East to score a run off him. Who exactly hasn’t he proved himself to??

he has barely faced the yankees to begin with but i have no doubt he would be effective, and i’m pretty sure the whitesox bluejays and tigers would be the elite and uh, blew one to the whitesox bluejays have scored on him and he hasn’t faced the tigers to my knowledge yet.

by no means do i think papelbon is a liability or bad, but this was all in response to someone asking every single time the sox blow it in the 8th why papelbon didn’t pitch the 9th? Well, he hasn’t been great in multi inning saves and contrary to what many of you believe, his arm is not immortal, he could have some fatigue, hence why francona will not go to him for more than an inning most of the time.

I think Papelbon should be brought in for a two-inning save in very critical situations – such as when they are playing a big game with the Yankees, White Sox, etc. However, I think Francona should let Timlin work out of his funk. He pitched well last night. Hopefully that is a sign of good things to come.

Kevin: Papelbon is defintely a very good closer. But not worthy of comparisons to Mo yet. Not even Wickman. As of now he’s just comparable to Huston Street. Great 1st year until now. When redsox fans were trying to compare a rookie closer to Mariano Rivera, they should have realized they are putting more pressure on the poor kid and that people will jump on them whenever this kid fails.

I donot any rookies, regardless of what team they play for, to **** except against yankees. I do not want anybody to lose their livelihood.

vik also brings up a good point that i suppose i was operating on sub consciously, many of you (not saying who) jumped the gun on papelbon being some sort of savior and mariano comparable after 20 appearances, now you’re paying the price lol.

Guys, guys, No One has compared him to Mo. The point is Yankee fans want to believe he’s slumping because he had 2 bad games. Vince, he had 2 saves vs. Detroit already. Toronto has scored 1 run in roughly 7,8 innings vs. him.

Wickman? I would much rather have guys like Huston Street, Chris Ray and Papelbon on the hill in the ninth than Wickman. You’re right, Papelbon is no Rivera yet. He may never be because I think the Sox will put him in the rotation next year and sign a top-line closer. But Papelbon is more effective than Wickman and most of the other closers out there.

lol no, it wasn’t happy you had a great closer, that would be saying “oh man papelbon is 20/20 thank god we have him over foulke” not “papelbon IS BETTER THAN RIVERA, rivera has a blown save and papelbon’s era is 0.26 he is younger too and amazing” which is the response i got from many many people. Papelbon is better than wickman.

and kevin, blowing back to back saves for a closer is struggling, regardless of what you would like to believe. I never said he would be unreliable for the rest of the year, I simply said he is struggling and nothing can change that. 1 is a fluke, 2 is bad luck 5 in 15 is struggling.

JLouder and Vince: You cant say Papelbon is better than Wickman. He has what it takes to be better than Wickman but he’s not better yet. There are a lot of players that have outstanding rookie years and fade away into oblivion. Let Papelbon do this atleast one more season before we compare him to one of more consistent closers the last few years. It is harder to sustain success than achieve it.

now here is my question, and i know what the yankee blog would say so im gonna ask it here….if we made the playoffs and mo had a meltdown against a team that was not the redsox say, in the world series or clinching game of the alcs again….is his lore and legend tarnished? does he need to be looked at as having two diff careers? how is his reputation effected?

I don’t think it would tarnish his reputation. It could impact him mentally, as it has with Brad Lidge, but I wouldn’t hold it against him. I might actually send him a bottle of his favorite wine if he had a meltdown and the Yankees lost.

In my not such expert opinion I think his lore and legend should remain unstained and in tact!! Although the timing would be terrible, I would think that he had a bad game, and if I were a Yankee fan, I’d be really pist, (since I’m not I’d like it) but I’d consider all the great things he’d done, and what the possibilities could be in the future

Mariano Rivera has defined closing. For 10 or so years he had one pitch. Everyone knew the cutter was coming but he was still unhittable. There is no doubt he steps his game up in the postseason, but past meltdowns in clinching games hasn’t really affected him that bad I don’t think..He recovered well from Game 7 of the WS against Arizona and is still dominant even though he allowed Bill Mueller’s single up the middle..Mariano Rivera to me is the greatest closer baseball has ever seen. Mo’ is Dominance…

comparing paps to mo or any other closer at this point in his career is premature. How come Eck not in this comparison is Paps better than him too. Besides deep down this guy wants to be and should be a starter. We should compare Ortiz to Mo now there’s two of todays top closers

lol hey Vince 14 years isn’t all that young… it’s old enough that she’ll fall for some stranger on a baseball blog =)

I’m 15, and I take beatings all the time lol

Kaylee, I wouldn’t call you a yankee fan yet. You’ve claimed to be one for like 2 weeks. REAL fans stick to ONE team for years and years. In fact, I don’t even consider MYSELF THAT MUCH of a Sox fan yet…

You’re a bandwagoner, which is like the Untouchables in Indian Hindu society. That means that you don’t really belong on ANY team; instead something else.

Don’t take this too personally. I just don’t like to hear “Yankee fans” declare their love for “their” team before they go past one birthday, you know what I mean?

lol I have no idea if Untouchables still exist; I don’t think the Caste system is as rigit as it once was.

And Kaylee, I know you can defend yourself. That’s why I don’t feel guilty criticizing you =)

Since you live in Arizona, you probably won’t be cheering your home team for the foreseeable future. It’s ok to be searching for a new team to root for, but just don’t call yourself a “fan”. It’s sort of an insult to real fans, you see.

On a brighter note, the Sox are seriously beating on the Orioles. Ian, the “gut check” is a success lol. Hopefully this will be a turnaround.

Well, I ain’t sayin’ nuthin’ about the score in any game, because I don’t want to be the one to jinx the Sox. Sox on the radio, Yanks on the tube. Boy, do I like Orlando Cabrera, not just because he used to play for the Sox, but I just love the way he plays the game.

Did anyone else notice that Vince wrote *******” and the censor didn’t catch it? Second time I’ve seen that in a week.

Kaylee, you aren’t serious, are you? What in heaven’s name could have turned your heart to the dark side, especially after spending your vacation at Fenway? Say it ain’t so Joe, say it ain’t so.

And Vince, I also remember there was someone trying to convince you that Papelbon was in the same category as Rivera. Silly person, whoever it was. The only way I see a poor post season performance (how’s that for alliteration?) tarnishes his reputation is if it comes at the end of his last year playing, and even then I don’t think it would overcome everything he’s done in his career so far.

That was a huge cut-off throw by Jeter. If he doesn’t get the ball out of his glove and throw it to Fasano that fast, they don’t get Cabrera at third, and Cabrera probably scores on the wild pitch. I’m curious if other folks think A-rod should have gotten an error for letting that ball get by him. The MLB rules say an error is a missed play that could have been made with “ordinary effort.” I’m not saying it was definitely an error, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had scored it that way.

Daniel Fagan was was very abusive to the Yanks anf they go his posts deleted from the Yanks blog and finally they were successful in banning him as a whole.So he is no longer here. From what I hear from yanks on the other blog he was really really abusive.

hey guys, sorry i was out, kumar pretty much summed it up, when you speak like a bigot and homophobe you tend to get banned from things, thank you for all the input on rivera, i was curious, looks like you guys got your punisher game, yankees playing typically against the angels, and btw yankee indian is vik not vince, i am vince

jamie he used to talk about our genitals, sexual orientation, our families, he would make fun of women, sing songs about how we would be swept, he was just an awful barely human being, that is the best i can sum it up. Me alone he would always talk to me about my ex girlfriends as if he has any idea about my personal or love life, he was just a useless human being plain and simple

Hey all. Watching the game for the 1st 4 innings while the wife was on the computer. I switched and gave her the TV.
What a catch by Lowell. Nice to see Millar hit into a clutch DP when it was still only a 1 run game.

Well, Lowell isn’t known for his grace, so it was a 45 degree run towards the 3rd base line, had to underhand the ball while it was on his side just as his hip was hitting the wall. He then tumbled over the wall and his whole body made it over. He was literally laying down in the first row.

Only 76 pitches through 6. I say let him go one more. Heck, the Sox haven’t had a complete game win this year, but I don’t think they’d risk him going all 9 in a blowout and since this is his 3rd start in forever.

It was me. I definitely don’t want to get in the debate again, but I said when trying to make a comparison to the MVP race. Please, Please, Please let’s not start this topic again.
Kaylee, don’t you see, you leave the Sox and they go in a slump. You come on tonight and the are up by eight. They need you.

This is a perfect game for them. As long as Wells holds them this inning. I don’t trust them is it’s 7 runs or less. Francona might wait until the score 8 until he takes them out.*****, I swore I was going to go the night without making a Tito comment.

i think that is veras third, possibly 4th appearence. The first time he had a scoreless perfect inning, then against the sox he walked everybody, then here he gives up a bomb…no kumar, of course we didn’t trade for him, he is from the system, jeez do u really think he wouldn’t perform (lidle was sick today) if we traded for him? duh.

Good to get back home and see the current status of the Sox and Yankees games. It’s nice to see the good guys winning again. Very encouraging for Wells. Hopefully, Johnson can give us his third straight solid start tomorrow, and the Sox can turn it into a win.

Real quick and I promise this will be the only negative thing tonight. And if anyone has an answer for me, let me know.
But if Kyle Snyder is supposed to be our “Long Relief” guy, why wasn’t he out there against KC when Lester was cut short. Now he’s pitching tonight which might make him unavailable for tomorrow. Jason Johnson has made ONE good start. Wouldn’t you leave Snyder for tomorrow just in case Johnson reverts back to his old self and gets shelled??

Johnson has made back-to-back good starts. He has put the Sox in position to win. Seanez or Tavarez will the long guy tomorrow if the Sox need a couple innings. I bet Johnson gives them another six inning start.

As long as a fifth starter keeps the opposing team to three or four runs, that’s all you can ask. As long as the Sox are hitting the ball well, that will suffice. He’s made two decent starts. He’s done his job. Hopefully, he can do it again tomorrow.

Thanks, Kumar. I try to stay away, but I can’t. My girlfriend doesn’t understand it, but she does tolerate it. She even goes to the games with me, and can tell you the Sox starting position players and their rotation.

Kaylee, when you say “we want the “ez bros” who are you talking about, the RedSox or YOUR YANKEES?? because the Sox absolutley do not want them!!! Last time you were here you were a Yankee fan. CHOOSE YOUR SIDE!! YOU CAN’T RIDE THE FeNCE ON THIS ONE!! So pledge your allegiance now, or are you going to wait until the division and/or pennant are decided??

Your Yankees. You are nothing but a pseudo fan. You root for the latest flavor. You’re not a fan until you follow a team through thick and thin over a period of at least a few years. You’re not a Yankees fan, a Red Sox fan or a baseball fan.

and this is the last response to Kaylee.. aka “Kaylee the Bandwagon jumper, I only like the leading team”. You guys, I’m sorry but I can’t stand fair weathered, love ‘em while they’re winning and then Skrew ‘em when the start to fail fans.. Go back to Teen Nation!!, right where your wishy washy, can’t decide opinions and so called “LOYALTY” belongs.

Kaylee, you sound really, really shallow and are quite annoying when you talk about the Yankees being “your” team.

You’re even shallower than most Yankee fans, and that’s saying ALOT. If you’re going to try to post on this blog, have real facts, instead of putting in 1-line remarks about how bad you think the team is, and wishing it ill. Only Vince is allowed to do that, and that’s only because he’s earned our respect.

Actually, I don’t miss her posts at all either. Who would miss a sentence that has words connected, capital letters mixed with lower case and a comment that makes no sense at all. Thank God we don’t have to see that every night any more.

It’s definitely a start, Ellen. I think we need at least a three-game winning streak to start some momentum, but at least I can go to bed tonight without a feeling of deep aggravation of a blown lead. And I had to watch two of those losses in Tampa first-hand!

I’m going up to Boston on business in mid-September, and I have tickets to two of the Sox-Twins games at Fenway. I’m hoping they are meaningful games, and not just another chance for me to see a historic park, down a Fenway Frank and follow it after the game with a beer at the Cask-n-Flagon.

So anyway I am a huge sox fan, but one guy i could watch hit all day long is vlad. The guy can hit any ball anywhere and as a baseball fan he is exciting. yeah sorry for that randomness but just saw a highlight of his home run tonight.

Yeah, Vlad Guerrero is definitely one of the top 10 players in baseball. Good to see Manny’s hitting streak continue. It seems that any modern-day hitting streak ends when it gets to the mid 30s. Of course, I would rather see the Sox have a long winning streak than Manny have a long hitting streak, but I’ll take both if I can get them.

Haven’t seen the Lowell play, but nothing surprises me with him. He’s still you enough – 32, I believe – where it would be nice to see him stay with the Sox for a few years. He is one of the players I’ve liked for awhile – even when he was with the Marlins – because of his demeanor, his professionalism and his solid defense and bat. Last year was definitely not a true indication of the type of player he is.

Don’t believe the Halos. The same thing happened to Sox when they played Halos. In the 1st game they took out Vlad in the middle of the game because of some problem(probably heat exhaution) and the next day Vlad comes back and hits a home run that was yet to land back on earth.

Rob, you sound real intelligent. When you post here, at least express an opinion that demonstrates you have a command of baseball and the English language. Perhaps you and Kaylee should have a private chat.

There you go. Personal attacks. Oops, I accidently hit an extra key and type “many” instead of “man” and suddenly I don’t have command of baseball nor the English language. Glad to see the anti-yankee fans are above personal attacks.

Nothing to do with personal attacks. Anyone on here – Yankees fan or Sox fan – knows that I am fair, and I express my opinions in a way that shows that I actually know the game – regardless of whether someone agrees with me or not. People like Vince are welcome here because he at least shows that he is a true baseball fan who understands the game. If you don’t want to sound like a *****, then issue an opinion that at least has merit to it. Yes, the Sox ****** against the D-Rays and the Royals. And yes, it is only one game against the Orioles. Still, after everything the Sox have endured, they are still just two games behind the Yankees.

Louder, that’s exactly what I mean. I put a post up to basically say, hey, you guys just beat a bad team, don’t get your hopes up too soon. Then I put up another referring to some people on this blog treating a young kid poorly. I never said you had anything to do with it. However, you made it personal and immediately questioned my intelligence. That wasn’t fair, and if you had any decency, you’d appoligize.

It is an absolute pity that sports fanaticism pushes all human values to the back seat. What is it that Kaylee did that warrants this treatment. All of you guys here kept your sry mouths shut when a 60yr old was running his mouth like a lunatic on everybody that questioned his lunacy. Is what Kaylee did worse than what he did? Is it a sin for somebody who is barely a teenager to be a little fickle? You guys (most of you) did not have the balls to stand up to a 60yr old lunatic. But you vent all you rage at a kid. Great. Keep it up.

I was just looking at the schedule and found something interesting. Sox have a day off before the Yanks series and the Yanks don’t.The Sox & Yanks play 2 double headers comming weakend. It may not mean much, but never under estimate the stength of the schedules.

yes kumar up to the series in fenway it is as tough as it gets for the yankees all year long, i think starting with the series vs the yankees u guys have the toughest 14 games (9 on a west coast trip immediately after) the yankees redsox series is only one double header though, unless you meant something else.

If you include a condescending posting like the one you issued to Jamie, you deserve the response you received. In baseball – like in any sport – you play the schedule you’re presented with. If you’re not playing well, you’ll get beat by teams like the D-Rays and the Royals. We’re not treating a young kid poorly. There are plenty of kids on this blog, and they are Red Sox fans. This a blog for fans, and for baseball conversation, not for one-line sentences that belong on the Nickelodeon blog. I don’t post on the Yankees blog – usually – because it is a forum for Yankees fans (true Yankees fans) to express their opinions, just as this is a forum for true Sox fans to express their opinions. I don’t mind if some Yankees fans debate here as long as it is intelligent debate. We don’t have to agree, but at least express an opinion that doesn’t make you look foolish.

I was not around here when Fagan was posting. I would not have tolerated racial slurs and harsh language and treatment either. That is not welcome here. Neither is a childish post from someone who is not even a Sox fan.

lol he clapped afterwards i think it was complimenting, but funny to see nontheless, i think that catch was a lot more like jeter in the 01 playoffs vs the A’s then 04….that was not full all out on the run and diving into the stands, that was a oh man the wall is here but i need to make this catch so im gonna fall over it, type of catch instead….and obv given the situations, jeter’s 04 was a lot more dramatic too but that goes without saying

I know we need to focus on winning a couple more from the Orioles, and taking 2 of 3 from the Tigers, but looking ahead to the Yankees series, I wonder who the Sox will call up to start one of the doubleheader games. Perhaps it will by Chris Smith. Or maybe they will give Kyle Snyder a rest this weekend and prepare him for a start.

Dwight Evans made a **** of a catch off, I believe, Joe Morgan in the 75 series. Out in right and into the stands.
Coco’s this year was pretty sweet off David Wright, but I don’t think it would rand up there.

Anyone remember the catch Tom Brunansky made that no one saw because the view was obscured to rob Ozzie Guillen of a hit and it clinched the division for the Sox?

As far as Mr. Fagan goes, there were some of us who did tell him we thought his behavior was out of line a long time ago. It just made it worse. I know it’s very tempting to try and stand up to folks who get nasty, but I have rarely seen it result in apologies or civil behavior, on this blog or any of the other discussion forums on which I participate. In my opinion if someone is being a real jerk the best thing to do is ignore them. That’s what I did with Daniel when he got into one of his moods. He actually could contribute some interesting and well thought out comments when he chose to do so. When he started attacking folks though, I just skipped over his stuff and moved on to other people’s comments.

Looks like Smith had another solid outing at Pawtucket, but he has just made two starts at the AAA level, and I imagine Francona wouldn’t want him to make his big league debut in the midst of an important series with the Yankees. I bet Snyder gets the call since he has shown some promising signs.

I really think Fagan had multiple personalities. Sometimes he offered decent baseball analysis, then he went off and insulted everyone and their mother, then he apologized, then he went on another tirade.

The day off on Thurday will be huge for the Sox. Assuming they need bullpen help on Friday with Johnson and Snyder, the pen will be well rested. One problem is Lester going on Saturday with his high pitch count early in games. One positive is that the Yanks don’t do too well against pitchers they face for the first time.

I’m not as ancy when Johnson takes the hill as you are, Kevin. True, he’s not Roy Oswalt. But if his sinker is working on he gets ground balls, he usually has a decent outing. At least decent by fifth starter standards. He did throw a six-hit shutout against the Tigers earlier this season – his only great start with the Indians. And he will be pitching on five days of rest instead of four when he faces the Yankees on Friday.

personally if i had to be bold and predict how each pitcher goes: wang and mussina both pitch well, lidle adaquate johnson and ponson terribly. (if it is wright instead of someone then he does terribly too)

schilling well, beckett adaquately, wells adaquately johnson bombed and snyder no more than 5 innings (prob will pitch well but he will be at 90 pitches after 4 innings)

I tell you what, Vik. I will ignore Kaylee and no longer post about her. I recommend, though, that since she is now a so-called Yankees fan, that she remain on the Yankees blog since she does not have the knowledge about baseball or the Sox to make a sensible contribution.

I think you’ll eat crow about Lester against the Yankees, Vince. I think he will throw a decent game and at least keep the Sox in position to win. We’ll see next weekend. Should be exciting – each of the five games.

Man, what is up with no “Baseball Tonight” tonight? SportsCenter is giving WAY too much attention to PRE-SEASON football. The highlights showed Lowell getting beaned, Lowell making his catch and not much else. Then the Yankees highlights were just as weak. Pfah!! I’m going to bed. Good night, sports fans.

Either way the Sox and Yanks agree that the Sox – Yanks is going to be 2-3 or 3-2, which doesn’t give much advantage to either of the teams. It’s the games against the other teams that count more than the Sox-Yanks series.

jlouder:
I am sure there are more people on this blog who know Fagan than people who dont. And I know a person who actually supported Fagan and the same person beating up Kaylee. That is fanaticism at its absolute worst.

Well, if that’s the case, that person is in the minority. Most people I have encountered on this blog are decent people who love baseball and the Sox, and just want to vent when they are frustrated and share their joy when the Sox are playing well. That is what true fans do. That is why people like Fagan and Kaylee are not wanted on this blog, for completely different reasons.

I don’t think our feelings were hurt, Kumar. You can’t hurt feelings when you are typing one-line sentences in code that are nonsense. We just don’t want people on here who are not true fans and have no opinion to contribute.

Vik, I don’t know anyone here that supported Fagan. We’ve all taken shots at Kaylee tonight, but enough already. Who really cares? I hope Ian blocked Fagan’s posts. I know Feinsand posted to you guys that he did on his site, hopefully Ian did too but just didn’t tell us.
Regardless of age, if anyone is a fan of a team for part of a season, then jumps ship when things go bad, true fans have a right to express themselves. I think because of her age people were actually a little leniant.

Personally, I can’t stand fairweather fans like that. If age wasn’t known here, would it really be a big deal?

Why the **** are we wasting our time talking about someone who jumped ship?

I mean, fantasy drafts are coming up, the little league world series is on. I love watching that. It’s a shame Harold Reynolds got fired because he was so good at broadcasting those games.

Unfortunately I won’t be getting the game down here. They will be showing the yanks/angels so I’m going to have to gameday it if I’m home.
Kris Benson is just coming off the DL, so hopefully he is rusty and the Sox can jump on him early like they did tonight.

i completely agree kevin. I love the LLWS and reynolds was good, the amount of emotion in the LLWS rivals college basketball as the most intense in sports i believe. I will be rooting for all NJ and florida teams particularly boynton beach since i hear we are pretty good every year

Thats what you think JLouder. But that is not true. Some people told me they are here just to talk trash to yankee fans and have fun. So people are here just to share joy when the sox are doing well, some people just to vent frustration when things dont o well, some like Vince just to get the oppositions perspective, some like me just to kill time and some just to talk INTELLIGENT baseball. As long as they dont attack people personally, who are you or I to say they are not welcome? The only person that can say that is Ian.

Yeah, enough about Kaylee and Fagan. Hopefully both are history. There is too much else to talk about. There are 48 games left, and the Sox are two back in the East and two out in the wild card. Lots of excitement and nailbiting ahead.

jamie, http://www.pinkmonkey.com was always a bigger favorite of mine for book reading cheating……don’t worry jeff i never plagiarized off the site it just saved a lot of time from mindless and otherwise useless reading.

though my favorite book of all time (besides the harry potters) the perks of being a wallflower was a summer reading book and it was absolutely wonderful, esp around the age of 15 or 16.

the first time i ever contemplated blogging on this one was when ian wrote why clemens would come to the redsox, it was going to be a vicious long written rebuttal but then i decided against it because I got busy, in hindsight im glad because i didn’t get off on the wrong foot and the actions that took place proved my point anyway

Believe what you want, Vik. I’m done talking about that subject.To me, Vince is the only Yankees fan on here who posts intelligent comments. We don’t have to agree with him, or any Yankees fans, just as I imagine there are Yankees and Sox fans alike who disagree with me. That’s alright.

Harry Potter is my favorite series too. I’m dead curious about what happens in the 7th (and last!!!) book. I think I’ll jump off a bridge when Harry Potter ends… it just seems impossible that it’ll just END…

Jamie, I bet Ian doesn’t have the time to participate in this blog. It’s very demanding covering a beat for a media outlet – whether it is baseball, the courts, etc. I think the main reason this blog exists is a forum for Sox fans to converse. It would be nice to get a perspective from someone who is in the clubhouse and covers the team regularly, but I imagine Ian is too swamped for that.

omg jeff…..shakespeare makes me want to go all romeo and juliet on myself. i ABSOLUTELY hate his writing. I know to poets that is like sac religious but i can’t stand reading his work it frustrates me to no end, yeah have fun jamie i think junior and senior year that is the the curriculem.

i think the 7th book will probably have a lot more action then we are used to and harry will prob be a little darker and more grown up (darker mentally not physically) and obviously there will be a final showdown with voldemort. I also think either hermione or ron (prob hermione for shock value) will die.

that is just how i feel though, i am still upset from when black died.

Kumar, go to sleep lol. ESPN doesn’t think that baseball is of paramount importance – I get so bored whenever they drone on and on about football before anything really matters. I personally don’t care AT ALL who showed up at camp… I care about the actual games lol.

I used to read a lot. Now, since I write non-fiction magazine features and books, I read lots of magazines and some non-fiction books. I can’t remember the last fiction book I read. There are plenty worth reading, though. I did read the Stephen King novel with Tom Gordon’s name in the title.

lately i have been on a humor book binge. I am trying maddox’s (the cult internet writer) book “the alphabet of manliness” it is not as funny as his website but it has its moments. lol Lately I have been reading my own writing more than anything else.

How will Ginny play a part in the 7th book though?? I still can’t believe what happened in the 6th, between Harry and Ginny… and yeah, Sirius Black grew on me, and I mourned his death for like a whole day.

I think that DUMBLEDORE IS STILL ALIVE!! Just google it, and you find dozens of literary proof… I think they’re valid anyways lol.

I wonder if J.K. Rowling will start another series… she can probably write garbage and still earn a gazillion dollars off of the Harry Potter reputation haha

Ok Baseball tonight started on ESPN. 35-40 minutes atleast before they show Lowell’s catch. If I catch my post to minimum on this blog and concentrate more I should be able to watch Lowell’s catch one more time before I go to bed.

yes jeff, i am sure they do, i personally love writing term papers usually, i have epic feelings of satisfaction when I write something I am proud of….schools have also wised up and have all sorts of programs to catch internet plagiarism, the risk is not worth it at all. The only reason i even use summaries is for backbone, i don’t ever just outright take their writing, i use it to beef up my own.

Ginny i would imagine would end up with harry…..see it is interesting they can play the mourning couple route where ginny and harry mourn over ron’s death, or the harry and ginny come to ron’s side to mourn his true love hermione’s death…it’ll be interesting. I think ginny personally will be 2nd to harry in terms of power even more than hermione and prob bail his *** out in a battle at some point.

I’m with u on dumbledore, me and my sister both agree he is still alive, i don’t know if that is out of denial or logic though. I finished the book where sirius dies on the way to georgia for vacation and it ruined at least half of it for me because i was legitimately upset.

Essays beat tests any day… for English, multiple choice tests are just so retarded… it tests for nothing. Memorizing plot is the stupidest thing on the surface of this planet, since in the process of analyzing a book one must memorize plot anyway!

Essays are the way to go! lol

p.s. I’m going to be in Honors English, so I don’t think internet papers will do the trick… my friend used one, and it was terrible lol; he got a C- and had to rewrite it! Wasted 40 bucks rofl

Yeah, it is a great sense of satisfaction when you write something. Even though I love writing, sometimes it is a labor of love. There are times when it seems like I can’t write anything intelligible on the computer screen, and other times when my creative juices are flowing. Either way, when the final sentence is written and the piece is proofed, it’s a great feeling to know you have created it.

Jeff, I love writing conclusion paragraphs… the “zooming out” quality of it (connecting the literature to real life and tangible existance) just inspires me to write. the Intro isn’t so bad either lol, with a bold intro sentence and development… I hate having to find quotes, however… sometimes I have to choose between a dozen great ones, and sometimes I have to scape by with BS

Maybe Lowell will dive in the stands tomorrow for you, Kumar! Or, you can get up early in the morning and watch it. I think the early morning ESPN SportsCenters and Baseball Tonights are reruns, or at least they once were.

Hopefully the Sox can win tomorrow and a more favorable blog entry can be posted. I’m the only Jason Johnson supporter on this blog, so I hope he throw the ball well tomorrow. I’m off to bed. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

I applaud you jeff. I have high hopes for Johnson as well. I’m hoping his sinker is working and that he can work quick like he did against Tampa. His first few starts were similar to Clement: guy gets on, everything slows down, then he walks a guy, then he craps himself and gets the Bill Simmons appropriately named “Derek Lowe Face” and it unravels.
Against Tampa, he got the ball back, got right back on the mound and threw.

Another 6 innings will be tremendous. A big lead early would certainly help his condifdense.

So I was checking out ESPNews this morning and caught a glimpse of Lowell’s catch last night. As many have pointed out there was a ysankee fan there, who by the way also moved out of the way so Lowell could make the catch. OK, so here is the real story. Apparently lowell gave out three autographed balls to those people, including one that said, “next time catch me.” I’m not to sure if this is true but nonetheless it is quite humorous. Go Sox!!!

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